Almost everyone I’ve ever met would be well-served by spending more time thinking about what to focus on.
Sam Altman, founder OpenAI/ChatGPT
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
Benjamin Franklin
OpenAI/ChatGPT Founder’s 13 Maxims – Excellent!
OpenAI founder Sam Altman details his 13 maxims for succeeding in biz and life in this Forbes article. He raised a billion in funding in 2015; achieved 100 million active users in 2 months (Tik Tok took 9 months, Instagram over two years); and observed thousands of CEOs through his role as President of Y Combinator and CEO of Reddit (didn’t know this about him). From this, he formulated 13 maxims. Please take 3 minutes to scan the list. I list all 13 at the end of these insights, but it’s worth reading the details if you can access Forbes articles (Forbes, Fortune, and HBR subscriptions are worth it).
Steve Jobs #1 Choice in Life Separates Dreamers from Doers
One of Sam Altman’s maxims is “Be Willful” – ask for what you want (see other 12 below). This Inc. article recalls how Steve Jobs picked up the phone at age 12 and called the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard to get some parts. Notes Jobs, who later worked for Hewlett Packard:
Most people never pick up the phone and call. Most people never ask, and that's what separates the people who do things from the people who just dream about them.
Please take 1 minute to read this inspiring story – then pick up the phone (or email) a reach out to a key influencer.
All You Have to Do is Ask
The Inc. article goes on to note: Sociologist Wayne Baker from the University of Michigan wrote a book called All You Have to Do Is Ask: How to Master the Most Important Skill for Success. In his research, Baker found that the "Giver-Requester" -- a person who helps frequently and also asks for help frequently -- is the most well-regarded and also the most productive at work.
Please take 1 minute to read the Inc. piece – then pick up the pace as a “giver-requester.” And please teach this to your children.
Science-Based Daily Routine
I’m leery when people use the term “science-based” but I listened to all 45 minutes of this podcast and based on other things I’ve studied, Dr. Stuart Farrimond seems to have nailed some important insights into what is a good daily routine. He’s the author of Live Your Best Life: 219 Science-Based Reasons to Rethink Your Daily Routine. It aligns with the simple idea that “your success is the sum total of what you do more of, less of, and different every day.”
Daily Routine – Morning until Night
On the podcast Stuart discusses why waking up to an alarm clock feels so terrible (interrupts natural sleep cycles), why you shouldn’t drink coffee first thing in the morning (better one to two hours after you get up), the ideal length for an afternoon nap (15 – 20 minutes), how to improve your commute (15 minutes is ideal), the best time of day to exercise (late afternoon), and more. I picked up a dozen important ideas and the reasons behind them – like most physical performance records are set in the afternoon. Listen while commuting or exercising!!
Downside of Remote Work
Commuting over 45 minutes, each way, is damaging to your health. In turn, no commute can be as harmful! Much of Stuart’s research ties back to our Paleo days – and seems we’ve always left home to go to work (on the hunt, picking berries, or in the fields). I had offices that were a 10-minute walk away from my home – and it was helpful to separate work life from home life – and provided an important line of demarcation that is missing when you work from home.
Sam Altmans’ 13 Maxims
Warning – I’m way over summarizing – the details behind each maxim are important – hope you can read the Forbes article several times:
- Improve Exponentially – compound yourself; don’t get caught scaling linearly.
- Have Almost Too Much Self-Belief – persevere because you know you’re onto something.
- Learn to Think Independently – think from first principles and have people that challenge you.
- Get Good at “Sales” – you have to convince others your ideas are good.
- Make it Easy to Take Risks – keep your life cheap and flexible for as long as you can.
- Focus – spend more time thinking what the focus should be first!
- Work Hard – work stamina – a big predictor of success – put in the hours.
- Be Bold – boring companies don’t spark the imagination.
- Be Wilful – ask for what you want.
- Be Hard to Compete With – build up leverage; be different.
- Build a Network – of people who are “a force of nature.”
- You Get Rich by Owning Things – equity, IP, real estate, etc.
- Be Internally Driven – be obsessed, extreme, and perform!
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